Six people, including five members of the Mexican Navy, died when their Mi-17 helicopter crashed during operations to put out forest fires, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Saturday.

The crash approximately 89 km north of Jalpan de Serra in the remote, hilly Sierra Gorda area of the north-central state of Queretaro on Friday, May 24, the navy said in a release.

The Russian-made Mil Mi-17 helicopter, which took off from Valle Verde in the neighboring state of San Luis Potosi, was carrying a helibucket with 2,500 litres (660 gallons) of water to fight a fire, the navy said earlier.

Central Mexico has suffered hundreds of wildfires in recent months due to low rainfall and high temperatures.